White Sox 9, Indians 0: Tribe closes season with lopsided loss

With a 9-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox in Wednesday's season finale at Progressive Field, the Indians went 3-3 in the six games since Alomar replaced Manny Acta on Sept. 27.

In 156 games under Acta, the Indians were 66-90 overall and 22-49 after the All-Star break.

The inglorious nosedive got Acta fired after three losing seasons and gave Alomar, one of the most popular Cleveland players in recent history, his first chance to manage at any level.

"This was a wonderful experience. I'm glad for the opportunity and feel I learned a lot about what it takes to manage in these six games," Alomar said.

Today, Alomar hopes to take a big step toward securing the job on a permanent basis when he sits for an interview (or interviews) with general manager Chris Antonetti, team president Mark Shapiro and chairman/CEO Paul Dolan.

On Friday, ESPN analyst and former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona will be interviewed.

Maybe the Indians brass will elect to interview other candidates. Probably, they won't.

Alomar has said all the right things about his desire to get the managing job and about Francona, who has 12 years of big-league managing experience and led the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.

"I'm my own man. I know what I can do," Alomar said before Wednesday's game. "I've done a few interviews before. I'm competing against a guy with postseason accolades."

Since ending his 20-year playing career in 2007, Alomar has spent five years coaching in the big leagues, two with the New York Mets and there with the Indians.